Opinion

Becoming a parent is one of the most significant events in many people’s lives and for some they may choose to consider the option of surrogacy. Surrogacy is when a woman carries and gives birth to a baby for another person or couple, known as the “intended parent(s)”. There are tw

Benjamin Bestgen and Alexander Jeuk discuss the practicalities of rebalancing the scales of justice making the legal system accessible to everyone. The complaint that the law tends to favour the wealthy and powerful while being much less available to the impecunious is not new. And there is much evi

The next few months are set to see two important cases making their way through the Court of Session, both of which concern the meaning of sex within the Equality Act. The first is the appeal of Petition of for Women Scotland [2022] CSOH 90 and the decision of Lady Haldane that sex means sex as modi

New figures showing that the number of people dying as a result of workplace incidents in Scotland has reached its highest level since 2019 have prompted urgent calls for reforms to corporate homicide legislation, writes Bruce Craig. Provisional data published by the Scottish Trades Union Congress (

It can be tempting to skip over environmental clauses in leases as just being "boilerplate". However, in the context of environmental contamination, to do so could have unexpected and costly implications for landlords and tenants. In the current market, environmental and sustainability provisions ar

Clowns to the left and jokers to the right: the Scottish electorate is zugzwanged as David J Black sees it. Some weeks ago The Guardian’s Marina Hyde levelled a blast against Labour and its normally hesitant leader. Her headline, 'What was that dreadful thud? The sound of Keir Starmer falling

Shonagh Brown and Pamela Gilmour discuss the Moveable Transactions (Scotland) Bill, recently passed by the Scottish Parliament, and how it aims to modernise and simplify the law of moveable transactions. Scots law has not traditionally been recognised for its dynamic or innovative nature, but newly-

Defence counsel Tony Lenehan KC writes that juryless trials are being driven by ideology rather than evidence.  After reading the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill I was disappointed but not surprised. I am disappointed at the many politicians, lobbyists, academics and

An­drew Steven­son considers the price we will pay by adopting virtual courts. Support within the UK for the principles of maintaining a system where justice is administered locally or in public was evaporating even before Covid-19; in the decade to 2020, more than half the Magistrates Court

Who remembers the Roberton Report? Who could have guessed the pandemic reasons for it ending up in the long grass for so long? Covered well by SLN, the announcement has, after a couple of contributions proved that the solicitor branch of the profession at least is as comfortable with its apathy as e

Roderick Macdonald, Lord Uist, warns that the Scottish government's new justice bill features two provisions which are "constitutionally repugnant" and must be removed. On 26 April 2023 the Scottish government introduced into the Scottish Parliament the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotlan

Jamie Kerr and Alex McLean provide some practical information on how the construction sector can benefit from the expansion of the Shortage Occupation List. In an attempt to address skills and labour shortages in the construction sector, a new report has recommended a number of changes to the UK vis

Sophie Pike’s instructive blog about childcare and how the costs might be shared between separated parents sets out possible legal routes to resolve disagreement. We agree with her conclusion that it is far better for parents (and their children) to reach agreement and to steer clear of the c

It is estimated that 80 per cent of the UK's building stock will still be here 50 years from now, therefore improving the sustainability of real estate cannot be limited to design and construction of new buildings. The industry must consider the sustainable long-term use of existing assets and how t

Sophie Pike explores the cost of childcare and how that should be shared between separated parents. The cost of childcare in the UK is reported to be amongst the most expensive in the world, with an average full time nursery placement costing nearly £15,000 per child per year. In Scotland, fun